Very close to the month of May and starting to set up plans for some multi-day digs. April mostly saw me keeping things local, checking on my usual dump spots. So far, I've encountered about 13 distinct trilobite species in the field, but nothing complete or all that much worth bringing home. It isn't springtime in the southwest of Ontario without me finding a few Terataspis fragments, which is always exciting. I also bought a trilobite at the auction house from a fellow Ontario collector: No, it isn't a complete Bufoceraurus, but a complete one would likely require taking a mortgage out on my house. I've found fragments of this toad-like cheirurid in Manitoulin a number of years ago, but this remains the most complete example in the collection. At one of my rock dump spots in town, I was finding the usual Bois Blanc / Onandaga trilo-frags. This one was worth taking a photo of given the size and the nature of the shell. Good ol' Anchiopsis, always appearing as either pygidia or cephalons. Maybe one day I will be lucky to find a complete one, but I'm not holding my breath. The high chertiness of this kind of rock means everything shatters, sadly. It also likes to send sharp missiles to any exposed skin. It is mostly corals, which are the hardiest in terms of erosion, but every once in a while I might hit a sandier plane underneath them where some trilobite parts have washed in.
I should also say that I've been reading comments left by readers of this blog, and appreciate them (not the spam ones, though). My apologies for the comments not appearing or my delay in response, but the settings on this Weebly-powered blog seem a bit broken. I'm not sure how I can fix that, but rest assured I read and appreciate the comments. You can always leave me your email if you want me to get in touch, as I'm always happy to talk fossils. Well, it's just about May and time to start gathering my tools and make my way out and about. Apart from one course to teach for a week, and one workshop to run at month's end, I look forward to busting some rock in farflung places. I have designs on some Devonian sites, but mostly I will be focusing on the trilobite-rich Ordovician. I have a bit of a bucket list of specimens I'd like to add to the collection this year, so with effort and luck maybe I'll be able to cross them off. If I'm really lucky, maybe I'll find something new. We'll see what happens when I play the rock lottery. Comments are closed.
|
Kane Faucher
Archives
February 2024
|